French Row Over Nuclear Energy

France is to renew its dependence on nuclear energy by investing in a new advanced reactor, industry minister Nicole Fontaine has said.

Her apparently unauthorised comments on Wednesday drew an angry response yesterday from opposition politicians and environmentalists, who said the government was riding roughshod over the recommendations of independent experts it appointed this spring to examine the nuclear question.

The experts' report, submitted last month, said a decision on renewing France's nuclear reactors could be put off for a decade - allowing time for public debate and more progress towards safer nuclear technology.

But Ms Fontaine said she backed launching the third generation European pressurised water reactor, a joint project between France's state-owned nuclear energy firm Areva and Germany's Siemens, as soon as possible.

"France cannot get by without nuclear power," Ms Fontaine said. "EPR has incontestable advantages. It is modern, 10 times safer, and 10% more efficient than the existing generation of reactors. Electricity will be cheaper, there will be less harmful waste."

The office of the prime minister, Jean-Pierre Raffarin, denied any decision had been taken and said a broad consultation paper on France's future energy policy was due to be published.

A leading environmentalist, Nicolas Hulot, told Le Monde he thought the decision on renewing France's dependence on nuclear power was so sensitive it merited a referendum.